Ilyasova, who worked diligently during the offseason to get bigger and stronger, admitted he has felt the pressure of living up to his big contract.

“I have had trouble sleeping lately,” Ilyasova said. “I just got to keep working and find my rhythm.”

Luc Mbah a Moute, who has yet to suit up this season after having knee surgery during the offseason, said there is a possibility he may begin practicing next week. Mbah a Moute is easily the Bucks’ best defender.

For Monta Ellis, who had played in a run-and-gun system in Golden State before being dealt to Milwaukee last March, the Bucks’ new-and-improved offense is precisely what the Bucks need to do on a regular basis if they are to halt their two-year playoff hiatus.

“We talked about doing this when I came here last season, but we never really did it,” Ellis said. “The last two games we’ve been doing it. And we should.

“We have two of the best at doing this (he and fellow guard Brandon Jennings). When we get out there (in the open court), we’re not easy to guard.”

With Ellis and Jennings leading the charge, the Bucks are averaging 98.7 points through the first seven games. It’s the 10th-best scoring average among the NBA’s 30 teams. It’s also a vast improvement over last season’s ineffective and rather boring offense, which averaged a meager 91.9 points a game.

I'm not worried about Ersan. He can't get any worse (and we're 5-2). Just give him some time and he'll be fine - he's better in the 2nd half of the season anyways.

Ellis isn't a problem either. His efficiency really can't get worse and has to improve, and his penetration has really set up our offense nicely as he's an actual threat to score once he gets in the paint.

LRMAM coming back only makes us better, as we can now throw him on any SF or PF we need to "shut down". I expect Daniels to get a bunch of DNPs as soon as LRMAM returns.

Bill Sattler, a self-described “die-hard Bucks fan,” is doing his best to make sure Jennings and Ellis are not only the Bucks’ backcourt of the present but of the future.

Sattler has created a Facebook page called “Stay Brandon and Monta” Sattler said the page was designed to gather support to keep the Bucks’ dynamic backcourt from leaving the team as free agents. Ellis has an opt-out clause in his contract after this season and Jennings will become a restricted free agent this summer.

Bill Sattler, a self-described “die-hard Bucks fan,” is doing his best to make sure Jennings and Ellis are not only the Bucks’ backcourt of the present but of the future.

Sattler has created a Facebook page called “Stay Brandon and Monta” Sattler said the page was designed to gather support to keep the Bucks’ dynamic backcourt from leaving the team as free agents. Ellis has an opt-out clause in his contract after this season and Jennings will become a restricted free agent this summer.

Bill Sattler, a self-described “die-hard Bucks fan,” is doing his best to make sure Jennings and Ellis are not only the Bucks’ backcourt of the present but of the future.

Sattler has created a Facebook page called “Stay Brandon and Monta” Sattler said the page was designed to gather support to keep the Bucks’ dynamic backcourt from leaving the team as free agents. Ellis has an opt-out clause in his contract after this season and Jennings will become a restricted free agent this summer.

JayMKE wrote:I think Ersan putting on muscle hurt his shot more than it helped anywhere else in his game

last year his production was great, don't messed with what works

This is the NBA we're talking about here. Everyone is working to improve to better their game to get a bigger paycheck or win more games. If you don't work on improving, you will be out of the league fast. Ersan wanted to improve but he did it in a misguided way. He just needs to continue to work on what got him there in the first place. I don't fault him for trying to improve.

IMO his head is hurting his game more than any muscle he may have gained in the offseason.

JayMKE wrote:I think Ersan putting on muscle hurt his shot more than it helped anywhere else in his game

last year his production was great, don't messed with what works

This is the NBA we're talking about here. Everyone is working to improve to better their game to get a bigger paycheck or win more games. If you don't work on improving, you will be out of the league fast. Ersan wanted to improve but he did it in a misguided way. He just needs to continue to work on what got him there in the first place. I don't fault him for trying to improve.

IMO his head is hurting his game more than any muscle he may have gained in the offseason.

Obviously not all professional athletes are wired the same way.

A guy like say Monta could start a season throwing up one brick after another as Ersan has, yet it wouldn't shake the confidence or get in the head of Ellis at all. He'd simply keep shooting the same type of shots he always took. Ersan on the other hand seems to care almost to much. Let's it mess with his head when open shots aren't falling. He's missing free throws. A couple of times i saw him hang his head after bricking another open jumper. Monta wouldn't do that.

This IMO impacts Ersan more than a standard PF because the jumper is his best scoring skill and jump shooting is so much affected by basic muscle memory. A jump shooter with with confidence issues will generally screw up that muscle memory reaction where a player thinks while shooting or thinks about whether to take an open shot instead of simply shooting it in rhythm.